Whether or not you think pot is a big deal, the fact that a Boston Firefighter was arrested for buying pot today doesn't bode well for the fire department's resistance to the mayor's desire to start random drug testing. Anthony Gaston is accused of, according to the Herald, "smoking a joint inside a department car." Making things weirder, he wasn't even scheduled to be at work. He was also allegedly carrying prescription pain killers. Other......

--Note to European officials: Next time you think you've got Whitey Bulger on your hands, make sure it's really him. Two people from Germany just announced that they're the people in the video circulated the FBI, which has led to the frequent hassling of innocent tourists. [Boston Globe] --A Green Line train with 70 passengers derailed at Reservoir last night. Of course, all you could hear if you were waiting for a Green Line......

--More fire department turmoil: A panel of union firefighters determined that the alcohol and drugs found in the bodies of firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne in August's Tai Ho Restaurant blaze did not cause their deaths. But the fire commissioner begs to differ. [Boston Globe, background: Bostonist] --While it's good that the mayor is throwing his efforts behind saving Hendry Street from the foreclosure crisis, the housing problems in Dorchester aren't limited to......

--Are you a smoker? House Speaker Sal DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray are considering raising the cigarette tax. [Boston Globe] --The head of the firefighters union is blaming the press for their current bad reputation. Would it be too terrible of a pun to say, in defense of the media, that where there's smoke, there's fire? [Boston Globe] --An 83-year-old woman was crossing train tracks in Medford when she was hit by an......

--A massive fire that started in an abandoned nightclub and eventually destroyed 14 buildings in downtown Lawrence broke into the national news. In a miracle given the size of the fire, no one was hurt. However, 30 families were displaced. Authorities think the fire is suspicious. The owner, who was in the process of turning the spot into a restaurant, says he has no insurance and that someone "jealous of his success" started it.......

Last year, at his annual State of the City address, Mayor Thomas Menino sought to prove the thesis of the recently released Nas album entitled "Hip Hop is Dead" by declaring that the rap community had given him the name "T-Mizzy." He might need some credibility and political capital with minority Bostonians after unveiling at last night's speech that he wants to save on school transportation costs by dismantling part of the city's busing......

Mayor Thomas Menino will deliver his State of the City address tonight at the Strand Theater in Dorchester. However, the spotlight won't be solely on him--the Firefighters' Union has declared they will protest the event. Firefighters have been working without a contract, and they are arguing with the mayor over whether or not to have random drug and alcohol testing. The dispute arose after two firefighters died in the Tai Ho restaurant fire, and toxicology......

--At least Mother Nature was kind enough to warn us of the impending weather torture with thunder. The Globe kindly reminds you not to drive like a dumbass. [Boston Globe] --Another milemarker in the ongoing battle between the mayor and the Firefighters Union: The union is considering picketing Menino's State of the City speech. [Boston Globe] --Potholes here, potholes there, potholes everywhere! [Boston Herald] --In Freetown, a trucker was killed when a pile of......

Do you have any spare toiletries? Books? Magazines? Anything to relieve the irritation and boredom that the troops in Iraq feel when they're not getting shot at? Bring 'em down to South Station today, then. A coalition of people, including the Commuter Rail Union, the Firefighters Union, the Teamsters, MBCR, and the MBTA are at the station. They have large bins decorated with American flags both inside and outside the station. The items must be......